Max Page: Meet the boy in the Darth Vader commercial

That’s what you may have been wondering ever since you saw the incredibly clever TV ad for Volkswagen’s 2012 Passat. The ad was released on YouTube and has been viewed more than 15 million times. It was shown again during yesterday’s Super Bowl.

A mini Darth Vader tries to use “The Force” in an ad for the Volkswagen Passat.

Today, that child took his mask off on MSNB’s Today Show. Max Page is an adorable little 6-year-old with strawberry blond hair; he looks a little like Luke Skywalker. At three months he was diagnosed with a congenital heart condition and underwent his first surgery.

Max now has a pacemaker and he’s able to lead a full and active life. In fact, he regularly appears on The Young and the Restless.

“Max’s prognosis going forward is very good,” says Dr. Michael Silka, head of cardiology at Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles. “He can essentially have normal activity and with careful care, a full life is a reasonable expectation.”

Max is getting some flak for revealing on the Today Show that he has never seen Star Wars. I think people are forgetting the power of a child’s mind. You don’t need to see the movie to understand the force. My own 6-year-old boy still hasn’t seen Star Wars, yet he knows all the characters and the story line–and loves to chase after his sister with his toy lightsaber.

He picks up bits and pieces about the movies from friends at school, from kids playing with their figurines at the park, and mainly from the 1978 Star Wars Storybook that my husband saved from his childhood. This is my son’s favorite book and by flipping through its pages he has become familiar with all the characters: Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, C-3PO, R2-D2, and his favorite Chewbacca.